More recently, he has become much more than a cocoa farmer. To diversify his income, he started a pig and poultry farm at his home near Soubré in rural Cote d’Ivoire. Rather than depending solely on the seasonal income accruing from cocoa, the creation of a poultry and pig farm would enable him to earn a higher net year-round income for his household, as well as provide nutritional benefits to the local communities.

We strongly promote cash & food crops working in an existing value-chain. Cocoa, Coffee, Cashew farmers cannot make a decent living today only based on their cash crop revenue. Alone, increasing productivity the traditional way isn’t enough as necessary inputs such as products and labour cost increase proportionally. The intervention model is a broad set of training & transformation activities aimed at strengthening the rural economy and its rural communities to ensure food security and nutritional needs in these challenging and sensitive tropical eco-systems. This means promoting activities outside cocoa farming and even outside agriculture

Based on our intense upcountry travel in Côte d’Ivoire, it became very clear that food security, health and nutrition are growing concerns. Food Security or ensuring a minimum of daily calorie intake and nutrition or the daily absorption of vitamins, proteins and minerals, are best dealt with through local production rather than through importing soy mill from the US.